February 28, 2015
Below is a letter that Richard Howell wrote on June 20th — just 8 days before the Battle of Monmouth, which was fought on June 28, 1778. It contains vital enemy tactical intelligence for the planning of that battle, to be relayed from Arnold to General Maxwell. Source citations are at the end of this post. It also describes some of the atrocities the British were visiting on the civilians in New Jersey.
February 28, 2015This page collects excerpts from primary source correspondence — drawn from The Writings of George Washington and the George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress — documenting Major Richard Howell’s role as an intelligence officer and field commander during the Revolutionary War.
The greater part of the New Jersey soldiers’ time was occupied by such mundane duties as mounting guard, cutting wood, and maintaining garrisons in several towns in the area. There were occasional opportunities during this period for excitement or at least a change in the mundane rounds of daily living.